THE CURSE OF CHIEF NIWOT

Boulder Creek Memorial to Chief Niwot

Chief Niwot (pronounced NAYE-wot) was the Arapaho Amerindian chief who met the first Anglo-American settlers of Boulder
Valley upon their arrival. The chief eventually welcomed the settlers, but his first reaction to their appearance in the fall of 1858 was
summed up in his now-famous curse: "People seeing the beauty of this valley will want to stay, and their staying will be the undoing of the
beauty."

Considering the City of Boulder's eco-friendly growth management policies (among other things, there are more trees in Boulder than there
were when it was first settled), the latter half of the old chief's curse has proved to be unfounded. But there are
certainly many Boulderites who will readily admit that they can't seem to get away from Boulder Valley, if not for its beauty then for
miscellaneous other reasons...